Zero Gravity
by Icicle04
Summary: She was a girl with a past no one knew about. A past that had changed her personality drastically and for the worse. Now, she goes to Ouran High School, the rich private school where everyone seemed to have too much time on their hands, and she also somehow managed to stumble upon the Host Club. Would everything in her life take another twist as she meets the Host Club idiots?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello people, welcome to Zero Gravity. I don't really have anything to say, so...**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything 'cept for my characters and the plot - applies for all chapters**

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**CHAPTER ONE**

It was my first day in high school at Ouran Academy. And I was completely and utterly lost. But luckily for me, I had arrived way too early and there was still 50 minutes until school officially started. Even so, this school was way too big for its own good and I haven't got the faintest idea where I was.

I went up some red carpeted stairs in an attempt to find someone or something that can help and saw a sign: Library 2. Okay, maybe I'll just stay here until it's time to go, and _then _try to figure out where my first classroom is (I am a very lazy person). Then I peered into the huge room, painted coral and with tables and balconies full of people gossiping and whatnot.

Okay, maybe not then.

I sighed and closed the door, flipping my hood up and concealing my long blackish blue hair and eyes. I thought libraries were supposed to be _quiet_? Well, Ouran is certainly different from the schools I've been to in America.

I decided to go up another set of stairs and down a hallway with a wall covered in windows. Then I came to a stop in front of a door, this time labelled Music Room 3. Well, well, I'd been hoping to play the piano again, and I doubt that anyone would be in here at this time, and I twisted the knob and shuffled inside.

Boy, that was the biggest mistake I've ever made.

"Hello and welcome to the Ouran High School Host Club. I am the president Suou Tamaki." A melodramatic voice said.

"Um, what the hell is a host club?" I blurted out after I had recovered. "And why are you in here? I thought this was a music room." I glared up at the blondie who just spoke, and spared a glance at the five other people in this room, now staring at me with interest.

"Your name please?"

"Kosume-"

"OH, you must be one of the new Honour Students. Well, let me explain.

Those of the wherewithal, first, in social standing, and second, in money, spend their time here in the private Ouran Academy. As such, Ouran Host Club is where handsome boys with too much time on their hands, entertain and charm girls, who also have too much time on their hands. It is the school's own personal, elegant playground for the super-rich."

This Tamaki person said, with extravagant (and unneeded) hand gestures, walking towards me in a most ridiculous manner. He tried to put his arm around my shoulder, but I promptly moved away, causing him to almost fall over.

"So what have you come here for, my dear Honour Student?"

I stared daggers at him. "Don't call me that. Anyway, I came he-"

"To apply to be a host right? Oh how lovely!"

"No, wha-"

"Well, you need to look the part. Just what are you wearing?"

I was actually wearing a dark blue hoodie and grey leggings, along with black boots. "I-"

"Well, no matter. I will get the twins to fix you up."

"I'm not a-"

"Hikaru, Kaoru; get him a uniform. Don't worry, you'll look good in no time."

The twins returned, uniform in hand. Didn't this idiot understand that I was a girl?! And I didn't want to be a part of the freakin' host club.

"I'M NOT CHANGING INTO ANYTHING ELSE." I finally exploded. All six males in the room blinked at me and went silent.

"Ah but you have to, or else you can't be a host." Tamaki was the first to break the silence.

"I NEVER WANTED TO-"

"Hikaru, Kaoru, take him to the changing room. Force him to change if you have to."

"Yes boss." Hikaru and Kaoru said in sync.

They dragged me to another door in the room, and shoved me roughly in there with the full male Ouran uniform.

I guess it can't be helped then.

I usually would've protested more, but this was a free uniform. _And _it wasn't the girls' uniform, which was so horrible that I was glad I 'couldn't afford' it. I quickly slipped my hoodie off, letting my hair loose. Then I proceeded to change into the purplish clothes quickly, and reluctantly changed my shoes too.

I stepped out of the changing room, a bag with my clothes in them in one hand. "Yo." I put my free hand up in a peace sign, something an old friend always did.

Everyone turned towards me and froze for a solid 3 minutes (I was staring at my watch) and then their jaws dropped to the ground simultaneously.

"Y-you're a g-girl?!" Tamaki had one hand on his mouth and the other was shaking as it pointed at me (he looked so stupid I would've laughed, except that I didn't want anyone to see me laughing).

"Well, duh. The name's Kozume Kiyoko. You interrupted me-" I glared at him "-when I said it the first time. And you kept interrupting me when I tried to tell you I never wanted to be a host." I hissed.

"O- er- well... " He looked embarrassed. Rightly so, too.

"I think we should let her be a part of the club - she can be the first female member ever." A black-haired guy with glasses said, scribbling something in a notebook he was writing in this whole time.

"Wait, WHAT?!" I just stood there as the words sank in. No, this was not happening. No way.

"What a great idea, Kyoya!" Tamaki beamed. I shot him a death-glare.

"I think that'll work very well, after all she'll bring in male guests for the first time and females might like to talk to her too. It'll be great for business." Kyoya pushed his glasses up.

"We agree!" The twins said, both raising a hand.

"_I_ DON'T AGREE!" I shouted at them. "NO WAY AM I BEING A _HOST_."

"Oh, but you have to pay for that uniform, right?" Kyoya smirked evilly. "And I don't suppose you have enough money for that?"

"I..." I trailed off. I actually did have money I took when I left home, but it would probably cost everything I have to buy that uniform.

"And mind you, my family runs the Ootori police force, which has roughly 100 members. They will-"

"Okay, I get the point." *eyeroll* - this guy is very very very annoying - "But I can just return this uniform, right?" I desperately searched for an excuse that would get me out of this situation.

"No can do, Kiyoko-chan..." One twin began.

"... because this uniform was made especially for you, so you have to buy it and keep it." The other one finished.

"Aww crap..." I sighed and flopped onto a sofa, considering my option for a while. "You annoying people have successfully bullied me into joining this pointless club." It would at least give me a distraction from... other things, and I would be able to come here in the morning if I woke up too early. I also had an evil idea to buy things with the club money, then just pay it off by working.

"WOOHOO!" Tamaki, Hikaru and Kaoru did a victory dance, while Kyoya just smirked. The other two don't seem to be paying attention to us anymore.

"Wait... I don't have to wear that hideous dress, do I?" I was horrified. That yellow pom pom... _thing..._ I would not tolerate it.

"No. Since that dress is more expensive, you can say that you can only afford the boys' uniform." The black-haired, rather evil guy said.

"Thank god. Now, we can save the introductions for later because I came into this room to play piano, so that's what I'll do." I ordered. "And once I want to do something-" I turned my evil eye on them "- _no one can stop me._"

I ran my fingers over the grand piano hidden under a yellow sheet. I have played this type of piano before, when I still lived in America with my parents... I quickly shook off the bad thoughts and began to play Ludwig van Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, one of my favourite pieces at all times. It took a whole fifteen minutes to play the whole thing, but it was completely and absolutely worth it. The host club members listened until I finished the song - I would've thought that they would get bored and start talking, considering the bossiness and rudeness of all of them.

"It's time for class now, Kiyoko." Tamaki said from beside me. I had to hold myself back from jumping up in fright - I was immersed in the music.

"O-okay. I'm in Class 1-A, someone show me the way, cos this school is way too big." I steadied myself and stood up.

"We'll take you there, we're in the same class." The twins grinned.

**~TIME SKIP~AFTER SCHOOL~**

"Jeez, I had to say a MILLION times that I couldn't afford a girls' uniform and that I actually was a girl." I complained to Kyoya. "This is your fault."

"Oh? Would you like to wear a yellow dress instead?"

"NO FREAKIN' WAY!" I yelled.

"Okay everyone, time to introduce yourselves." Tamaki clapped his hands. Surprisingly, everyone came 'round, obeying him.

"Morinozuka Takashi. You can call me Mori." The tallest guy with black hair and grey eyes said.

"I'm Haninozuka Mitsukuni but call me Honey!" A tiny blonde guy clutching a pink toy grinned.

"We're the Hitachiin twins,"

"Hikaru..."

"... and Kaoru."

"I am Ootori Kyoya, vice president of this club, also known as the shadow king."

"Hikaru and Kaoru are first years, as you already know, Kyoya and I are second years, and Mori and Honey are third years." Tamaki explained. "In this club, Mori is the wild type, Honey is the boy Lolita type, Kyoya is the cool type, the twins are the little devils type, and I, my friend, am the princely type."

"I don't doubt that..." I muttered under my breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone, I'm back with a new chapter... **

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**CHAPTER TWO**

"Good afternoon, my ladies. It is time to introduce the newest host in our club!" Tamaki stood at the centre of the room, smiling at the girls, who swooned and squealed (ugh). "Actually, might I say, newest _hostess, _because she is female. Everyone, meet Kosume Kiyoko, the Tsundere type!"

An irk mark appeared on my forehead as I heard that last bit. Tsundere? That's what all my old friends called me. I AM NOT A TSUNDERE, FOR GOD'S SAKE! Still, I stepped up next to Tamaki and faked a smile.

"Hi everyone, you can all call me Kiyoko. Erm, guys can request me, but if you girls need a talk or some advice, you can come to me too. Thanks...?"

That was so awkward... I didn't know what to say at all. At least I didn't have to talk to guys today because no one knew about me - phew, I didn't know if I would snap at the guys since I hate them. But considering how much gossip spreads around, I'd be very busy tomorrow. Oh great...

"Um, Kiyoko-san?" My head automatically whipped up towards a new voice at my table. "D-do you mind if I sat and talked to you?" Up to that point, I had been doing my homework because most of the girls has flocked to the guys.

"Oh, sure. Here, sit down." I neatly stacked away my worksheets and patted the spot next to me. I always tended to be nicer at first, especially to girls.

"W-were you busy? I'm sorry I interrupted you." This girl had shoulder-length blonde hair, and shy green eyes.

"Not really, I was just doing my homework because none of the other girls wanted to talk to me." I faked another grin. These smiles get better all the time.

"Well, I wanted to ask you about something. You said you give advice, right?" Her eyes sparkled. I just nodded. "U-Um, I l-like this guy in my class, and I don't know if he likes me too."

"Hmm... I'm not really any good with these girly things, but if you tell me a bit more I might be able to give a few hints." I feigned interest and leaned towards her, hands cupping my chin.

"We're really good friends, and he does nice things for me all the time, like hold the door for me or smile at me for no reason." She blushed. "I really like him."

"I think you should tell him your feelings, it sounds like he likes you too. If things don't go as planned and he says no, make sure to tell him to forget the whole thing and continue to be friends. It's up to you how you do it though." I shifted uncomfortably. My old friends were all 100% non-girly, like me, so I didn't have to deal with anything like this.

"Thank you so much, Ki-chan! You've helped me a lot, thank you!" She stood up excitedly and bowed.

"It was nothing." I stood as well, I signalled for her to go first, pretending to be nice. "No one has said thank you to me in a long time..." Well, that's how they wanted me to act, but my last statement was true...

"Kya! Ki-chan's tsundere side! So cute!" She squealed girlishly, then rushed off. "Bye Ki-chan!"

"Ki-chan? The hell?" My face immediately changed from kind and caring to annoyed and slightly disgusted. "Girls here are so... girly."

I managed to stay alive for the whole club time, and had basically completely finished all of my work.

"Alright lovely ladies, I'm sorry but it's time to close the club, please visit again tomorrow!" Tamaki said, as a chorus of groans ran through the room.

I stood at the door, smiling - fake - as the last of the customers trickled out. When they were no longer in sight, I slammed the door as hard as I could. "Good riddance to those annoying girls." I muttered.

"How could you?! They aren't annoying at all, their loveliness and adorable smiles-" Tamaki cried, hand on his chest.

"Ew, spare me the story."

Just after I uttered those words, the door to the room opened and everyone immediately got into their positions, whereas I just stood there, a little apart from the others. I instantly recognised the girl-in-disguise from my class, another honour student - Fujioka Haruhi.

I sighed and went to the hidden piano, examining and then cleaning it thoroughly while Tamaki sprouted more nonsense. I only looked up from the instrument from I heard a crashing sound - the expensive-looking vase was in pieces on the floor. Uh oh...

**~Normal POV~3rd Person~**

Haruhi shook as she was informed that she'll be the club's 'dog' until she paid off her debt. Holy, that vase was 8 million yen. How many thousands is that? Just then the girl who talked to her before - and was the only one who knew she was a girl - walked over.

"I feel sorry for you, Fujioka. Now you're in the same position as I am." She smirked a little and put a hand on Haruhi's shoulder.

"Eh?! You're blackmailed into working for this club too?" She frowned.

"Blackmailed is a rather nasty word, Fujioka-kun." Kyoya was writing in his little book - _again _\- and didn't bother to look up.

"Then, bribed?" Kiyoko sneered.

"Bullied?" Haruhi blinked.

"Threatened?" The list went on, until Kyoya couldn't stand it anymore.

"Okay, you can stop now. I suggest you both go home to get a good rest because we'll be working you both very hard from tomorrow onwards."

The girls looked at each other and pulled faces. "Right. Kiyoko-san, do you want to walk home together?"

Kiyoko was surprised, to say the least. No one has asked her to walk home together before.

"Okay, I guess..."

"Where's your home? Mine's just 'round the corner." Haruhi smiled.

"Me too." The walk had been mostly quiet, but it hadn't been awkward. They turned the corner and walked for a bit before they both stopped.

"My apartment is here." They said in sync.

"No way..." Haruhi deadpanned.

"Don't tell me..." Kiyoko jaw dropped. "We live in the same building."

"I live in Number 4."

"Number 5."

Haruhi chuckled and even Kiyoko managed a half-smile.

"Well, Fujioka, see ya tomorrow."

"Bye."

**~Kiyoko's POV~1st Person~**

Well, this is interesting. I can hardly believe that I live next door to someone from school, who has the same fate as me. I watched as she gave me one last wave and swung the door shut. A sigh escaped from my mouth and I slowly opened the door to my apartment, peering into the gloom before stepping in, darkness enveloping me.

This place felt so... lonely. Heh. I laughed bitterly. You'd think I would've gotten used to being lonely by now. I trudged into my tiny room, throwing my bag onto the floor before flopping onto my mattress, one of the only things I bought for my apartment. I didn't feel like dinner today and homework was already finished, so I just lay on the bed, listening to the sound of my watch ticking and presumably Haruhi next door.

As the time neared midnight, I finally fell asleep, dreaming of an annoying girl dragging me shopping - TORTURE - and being forced into pink bikinis - DOUBLE TORTURE. There were also the usual nightmares - memories from the past that were too painful to think about. The dreams finally ended at around 6:00am, and I woke with a yawn.

It was a new day.

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**Ah, this one's slightly short, but it'll have to do. **


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

"Crap." At 6:30am in the morning, I was already at school. I'm probably the only one here right now - even rich people don't get up this early. But I had nothing to do to kill time and there was still TWO FREAKING HOURS until school started. I yawned as I started towards the only place I could go: Music Room 3.

"Good morning, Kiyoko." I turned and saw Kyoya on his laptop, doing who-knows-what.

"What are you doing here so early?" I asked, flopping onto the nearest sofa in the room.

"I could ask you the same thing." The shadow king pushed up his glasses.

"You could, but you didn't." I stifled another yawn, dropping the subject. "Wake me up when it's time for class." Not waiting for his reply, I lay down and curled up into a ball, making myself comfortable. I dozed off immediately, comfortable on the soft leather.

But the nightmares came back.

* * *

"KI-CHAN!" A babyish voice hollered in my ear. "Can you hear me?"

"No..." I muttered drowsily. "Go away..." I heard a few chuckles from a different voice before I was lifted into the air. My eyes snapped open, now fully awake. "Hey! Put me down! What are you doing?"

"You need to try on a few costumes for our theme. This theme goes on for three days so you have to find three different outfits." Tamaki grinned excitedly. "The guys will be wearing formal suits so you should find a few nice dresses."

I glared at him, then abruptly jumped down onto the ground. "I will _not _wear a dress, you hear me? I will NOT wear a dress. Can't I wear a suit like you?"

"No." He shook his head. "Hikaru, Kaoru, find her some outfits to try on."

"Yes boss."

"But I'm going to wear a suit for at least one day. NO ARGUING." After shooting them a death stare, I checked my watch: 7:36am. Enough time.

* * *

I gritted my teeth as I stepped out of the changing room, clad in a silver-blue dress and blue flats.

"It was a good idea to ditch the high heels." Kyoya smirked. "170 centimetres is tall enough for any girl."

"170 centimetres?! That's only 9cm shorter than us!" The twins exclaimed in sync.

I rolled my eyes. "Can I get out of this thing now? It's seriously uncomfortable." But before I even turned around to escape back into my changing room Haruhi came out from the room next to me.

"You know, I think we should make Haruhi-kun here a real member." Tamaki stroked his chin, deep in thought.

"He might even bring in more customers." Kyoya nodded and shoved another suit at her and a suit at me too. We both trudged back inside our changing rooms unenthusiastically. I changed lightning fast - as usual - and came out to wait for Haruhi.

"Haruhi, I got you a suit that would probably fit better-" Tamaki froze. I sighed inwardly, marched over to them and closed the curtains, leaving the President outside - still frozen. He looked like he'd seen a ghost - indigo eyes wide and hair messed up.

"Snap out of it already." I growled at him. "You dumbasses can't tell females from males, it seems." I directed that last sentence at everyone else in the club. They were really stupid...

"Um, senpai?" Haruhi pushed the curtains to a side. "You were right, this suit fits better." She came out in a white shirt with a purple tie and a light-pink blazer.

Tamaki blinked, embarrassed. "We should tell everyone that you're a girl so that guys can request you too."

Haruhi frowned for a while, then smiled. "If that would help me pay off the debt sooner, sure, Tamaki-senpai!"

He went slightly red and I smirked. Funnier and funnier. "Well, this fits so can I take it off now? 's almost time for class now." I gestured to my suit, a long silver one - the back fell to my knees but the front was just like any other one - with a light blue shirt underneath. The shirt's top button was undone and I ditched the tie, so it looked kind of casual and formal at the same time.

* * *

"Hey, Ki-chan?" I felt something tugging my sleeve and I looked down to see Honey squeezing his bunny, Usa-chan, to death. I had been about to set off early for class, having changed back into the usual uniform. His usually happy expression was grim and anxious.

"Honey?"

"Ki-chan... When I woke you up today you were sleep-talking. Did you have a nightmare? You can tell me about it, you know." This guy is way smarter than he looked. Wait, crap. I was dreaming - 'nightmaring' - about... my past.

"What did you hear?" I unconsciously bit my lip.

"Umm, I couldn't hear properly, but it sounded really scary." Honey stared up at me and I patted his head, his huge eyes making me feel rather uncomfortable.

"It's okay, I have nightmares all the time." A corner of my mouth tipped up into my trademark smirk and I turned away, heading towards my classroom.

As I walked, I thought about my past in America. For the first time in ages, I allowed myself to think about my parents, my crazy mum and my strict dad. I knew that even though my dad always expected me to be perfect, to be good at everything, he still loved me, at least a little. I thought the same of my mum too, especially since she was the supportive and caring one, until that day on the rooftop.

I shuffled into the classroom and put my stuff down, still lost in my thoughts. I lifted my right trouser and ran my fingers along the scar, around 5cm long. That, and the scar on my face, was a constant reminder that I wasn't good enough, however hard I try.

* * *

**~Normal Point of View~3rd Person~**

Kiyoko's grey-blue eyes widened in surprise.

"Seriously? You twins do hair?!" Hikaru and Kaoru had dragged her into the club's 'beauty salon' and curled her waist-length hair into wild waves.

"We specialise is all sorts of things." Kaoru grinned.

"But the real question is..." Hikaru trailed off.

"WHY IS YOUR HAIR BLUE?" Tamaki finished for them.

She rolled her eyes. "My hair was always blue. It's just that when it's straight it looks more blackish."

The host club stared at her uncomprehendingly.

"Oh, jeez... Just drop it already." Kiyoko ignored their stares and went to get changed into her silver suit, ruffling her newly curled hair to make it messier.

**~Kiyoko's Point of View~1st Person~**

Today there will possibly be a lot of guys, but then again Haruhi is going to join me so she'll take some of the male customers too. We smiled at the first of the guests as they trailed through the doors, then the guys went off to do their usual thing.

Haruhi and I watched as Kaoru 'accidentally' gave himself a 'paper cut'.

"Kaoru! I've always told you to be more careful."

"It's okay. You have to be careful too, I don't want you getting hurt."

"Kaoru..."

"Hikaru..."

I gagged. "Ew, that is seriously sick, ew, ew, ew."

Haruhi snorted. "That's completely true, although those girls don't seem to think so." It was true, the girls at their table were swooning and had hearts in their eyes. I shook my head; weirdos. Then we directed our attention to Tamaki, who was holding this girl and swinging her down into one of those 'romantic' dips.

"Oh, Tamaki-sama..." Then she fainted.

I shook my head again. "If he ever tried that on me, I would punch him so hard no one would recognise him after I had finished."

"Hey, girls." A voice made my head snap back towards the door. "The one with blue hair, I'm requesting you." An annoying-looking guy drawled. I should've been happy, since it meant I was on my way to paying off the debt, but all I felt was annoyance and an instinct to judo-flip him.

"Of course." I gritted my teeth and smiled at him, - the usual fake one - sitting down across from him. "So what is your name?"

"Shiro." He frowned at me, then asked something I really wasn't expecting. "Shouldn't you girls dress in more appropriate clothes?"

"Like?" I was slightly confused and very annoyed.

"Like," He gestured as he spoke "Low collars and short, tight minidresses?"

I took a deep breath, trying to stop myself from kicking him in the face, but before I could respond he kept on talking. "And shouldn't you be more _entertaining_?"

My eyes narrowed but I gestured for him to continue.

"Maybe say something like, 'Shiro-sama, we love you!' like the girls in the nightclubs."

I couldn't stand it any longer. Swiftly, I stood up and grabbed his tie, pulling him by it. "Well, _Shiro_, I have no desire to wear revealing, uncomfortable clothes for the likes of you, nor do I want to be _entertaining._ And if you think anyone's going to act like those stupid, brainless sluts in those nightclubs, then you're even more stupid and brainless than them. This is a _host club_, so if you want to be fawned over then I suggest you _leave and go somewhere else."_ I hissed, the last words a threat. Then I let go of his tie and stood, brushing myself off and abruptly leaving.

"Spoken like a true hostess." The voice of the king startling me as he walked over. "I'm sorry Shiro, but you are no longer welcome at this club." I smirked as that disgusting guy threw one last furious look over his shoulder and marched out.

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**Mind you, tis my first fanfic, so review if you like it, so I'll keep on going. Or gimme some constructive criticism - I've got a lot to improve. ****I made some minor changes in the first two chapters - there's more information if you want to go back and read it again.**

**Hehe, wonder what happened to Kiyoko in America... *evil laugh* I'm going to keep you all on your toes.**

**See ya in the next chapter (I'll probably update this slow again).**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR **

"_Dance _party?!" Kiyoko's disgusted face was so funny that the twins sniggered.

"You didn't know? Because of this formal theme..." Kaoru began.

"...we have a dance party to finish it off on the third night." Hikaru finished, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"It's a pretty formal party, held in the ballroom of Ouran Academy. The ladies dress in their fine dresses and the Ouran Host Club, namely, us, put on these suits." Tamaki explained with more unneeded gestures.

"Ew." Haruhi said.

"Double ew." Kiyoko nodded. The girls had kind of become friends, maybe because they were the only girls in there, but also because they agreed on a lot of things.

"Aw, come on, my daughters."

"Tamaki-senpai, I already have a dad, so I don't need another one." Haruhi deadpanned.

The other girl kept silent. She would've said the same thing, except that she didn't count her biological father as her dad anymore.

He sniffed dramatically and went to sulk in the 'Tamaki Corner', as Kiyoko liked to call it. "Mommy," Tamaki cried, "You should speak to Haruhi!"

"No." The Shadow King stoically said.

"Wah! At least I have my other daughter." He edged his way towards her. "KIYOKO!"

She turned away. "No."

He froze and faded, going back into the 'Tamaki Corner'. Everyone could hear him muttering as he turned into dust. "My daughters... dear Haruhi and Kiyoko..."

* * *

**~Kiyoko's Point Of View~First Person**

The host club were such weird people; I mean, there's this melodramatic 'princely' guy who is the president, a rather evil 'cool' Shadow King, a mini 'boy Lolita' who's the oldest in the club but looks like a elementary schooler, a set of 'little devil' twins who do gross twincest acts, and this giant guy who's supposed to be 'wild' but I really couldn't see where that came from.

Of course, there's Haruhi and I too, but she was pretty normal, maybe a little dense and too nice sometimes, but hey, who was I to criticise?

"Miss Kosume, would you like to explain this problem for us, since you don't seem to be paying attention?" My maths teacher interrupted my daydreaming.

"Er...It's working backwards to find the answer. Well, 172 plus 215 equals 387, so 387 divided by 3 equals 129, and 129 subtract 38 is 91, and 91 multiplied by 2 is 182, so the final answer is 182." I half-smirked at the teacher and he narrowed his eyes at me. Obviously, I didn't care the least about what he thought.

"That's correct." He sounded surprised. Jeez, I was a _scholarship student. _What did he expect? Besides, I'm pretty sure that that question was meant for elementary schoolers.

"Well done, Kiyoko." Haruhi smiled from next to me.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Why are all poor people so smart?" One of the twins (I'm assuming Kaoru by the tone of his voice) poked me on my arm and the other poked Haruhi. She just sat there blinking, but I growled at them and did an 'Extending Emu', which was what my old friend and I made up.

It's basically when I shape my hand into an emu's head, then when aiming for their ribs, I extend and straighten the hand, giving the person a good, hard poke.

"Owwwwwwwww..." Kaoru groaned, rubbing the spot where the 'emu' landed.

"Ooh, harsh." Hikaru said, amused, from the other side of the table.

Then the teacher shot a glare this way and they all fell silent.

* * *

I had on my 'sour-as-a-lemon' face as I slipped into a silver shirt with flared sleeves and a pair of black leggings with random shiny blue swirls on it. I would've seriously preferred a _normal _t-shirt and some comfy pants... Well, at least I didn't have to wear a stupid dress. I was being so loud and annoying about dresses that in the end, the host club didn't force me into one.

Hehe - suckers.

"Kiiiiii-chaaaann!" A now familiar babyish voice shouted. "You done yet?"

Jeez, impatient much? I gathered up my stuff and got the heck out of that weird changing room that was full of roses painted on the walls.

When I stepped out, I saw the host club wearing suits and looking 'fabulous' as usual. Haruhi was in this yucky pink dress with a bow on the front and wearing a long wig. I sniggered a little when I saw that but quickly managed to regain my composure as Tamaki led us out to the ballroom.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of Ouran Academy!" He cried, throwing his hands up towards the audience. "I am the president, Suoh Tamaki!"

A chorus of squeals erupted in the whole ballroom.

"KYAAA~ Tamaki-sama!"

"SO HOOOT! MORI-SAN!"

"Honey-senpai...!"

"Oh my, so many cuties... KYAAAAAA~"

I face-palmed. "Oh gawd..." What the hell is with these weird people? The host club were, I must admit, good-looking, but seriously? Eeeeeeww.

The dance party introduction went on, and soon the actual dancing started.

"Um, Kiyoko-chan?" An annoying girly voice stuttered. I took a deep breath and turned towards her, but still didn't manage to control my flaring temper (cos I was still mad that those stupid people for making me come to this stupid event).

"Yeah what?" I said, sounding impatient, even to my own ears.

The girl winced. "A-ah, sorry... I just wanted to... um, never mind." She twisted around uncomfortably and tottered off in her high heels. The hell is wrong with people these days?

Then _another _voice interrupted me. "Kiyoko."

"_What_?" I hissed.

The guy now in front of me grinned. "Will you dance with me?"

"No way in hell." I immediately replied, patience and pretence all flown out the window.

The brunette smirked. "Aww, come on, Ki-chan, that's what you're here for!"

I tilted my chin up. "I'm here because the host club forced me to, not because I had a choice, dude."

The random guy didn't reply, instead he started walking towards where Tamaki and Kyoya were taking a rest. I stared suspiciously at him as he struck up a conversation with them, and then all three glared my way. I knew that PIG (Pesky Ignorant Guy) was planning something.

Soon the president of the host club and the PIG who I didn't know the name of came over. A triumphant smirk was showing on his face.

"Kiyoko..." Tamaki started pleading.

"Dun wanna hear it." I put up a hand to stop the flow of words I knew were going to flood me as soon as he opened his mouth again. "You told me I had to come but never told me I had to dance, dude."

He made the wide-eyed puppy dog eyes again, but I shook my head.

"That doesn't work on me." Then his face turned rather evil-looking and beckoned Kyoya over. Uh oh...

I sighed as the Shadow King pushed up his glasses nonchalantly. "Well..." He began.

"OKAY!" I put up my hands in defeat. "WHATEVER!"

I glared at the annoying - still unknown - guy and hissed at him when the others left. "You will pay for this."

To my surprise, he started laughing, clutching his stomach.

"What the hell's wrong with you?!"

"N-Nothing...AHAHAHA! Just wanted to see your reaction when I did that. I don't really want to dance - I hate it almost as much as you do..." He finally stopped the 'giggles' and straightened. I just kept staring at the maniac.

"I'm Akiyama Koichi, Haruhi's cousin. I went to visit her a few days ago and she told me about you and the host club. Oh god, you're even funnier than what I expected." With that, he burst in peals of laugher again.

"Okay... That's very...very...er...nice of you..." I was weirded out by this Koichi person.

That's when I spied some cupcakes on the other side of the ballroom and immediately went over. "Well, it was...nice meeting ya dude, but I'm gonna go grab a cupcake or two now...or three."

* * *

Finally the dance party was over... But because of that I only managed to sleep for 4 hours last night. NO ONE TOLD ME THAT WE WE'RE GOING TO BE CLEANING UP THE PLACE AFTER THE PARTY! It finished at 1 'o' clock, the cleaning took 2 hours, and I had more homework to finish afterwards. I was so exhausted I just stayed in Music Room 3 during the night, resting on a comfy sofa. My eyes were literally bloodshot today, because the nightmares still persisted even though I was so tired.

**_~Flashback~_**

_The girl woke to a dim light in her new room. Ever since her baby brother was born, her parents had moved her to the tiny cupboard-like room because 'he needed the bedroom more'. _

_She sighed. Mum never even bothered to be caring to her, always 'oh just look at darling Hitoshi' or 'he learnt so much faster than Kiyoko'. Dad just listens to whatever mum says._

_"Oh, Kiyoshi, honey, get me some water for our son, please."_

_"Kiyoko, go get some water." Dad would say._

_But after a while, they didn't even use her to help them anymore. It was as if she doesn't exist to them, her own parents. Her presence was nothing._

_All the girl had were her friends, but slowly, they drifted apart too._

_Some transferred. Others just started ignoring her like her parents._

_She didn't matter._

**_~Flashback End~_**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

The girl yawned and stretched her long legs out in front of her. Unfortunately for her, the sofa was a little cramped and not long enough, so her neck felt stiff and her legs were sore.

_Knock, knock._

"Jesus, can't a girl get a good night's sleep - and a peaceful morning - even after an evening of exhausting events?" Kiyoko grumbled and got up, trudging over to the door. "Yeah what?"

"Huh?" The annoying PIG from yesterday was standing there, holding a bundle of flowers. "Oh, it's you. I thought Haru-chan would be here." He said, immediately relaxing and throwing down the flowers.

"A-ki-ya-ma Ko-i-chi." She pronounced every syllable as if it was a disgusting slug. "Who's Haru- oh you mean your cousin Haruhi?"

He smiled. "Yes, Haru-chan. And you remember my name!"

"Well, how do I put it, I have a very good memory." Kiyoko stated sarcastically. "So what are you doing here? I would've thought no weirdos come to school this early."

Koichi grinned slyly. "I was looking for Haru-chan."

She rolled her eyes. "Flowers for her? You like her?" She sniggered.

"A-ah? Well yeah I guess..." He looked uncomfortable for a moment, then his face cleared and looked bright and happy again. "Anyway where is she?"

"Dude, _no one _comes to school so early in the morning, and even if she does she doesn't come _here, _she goes to her classroom." Kiyoko sighed.

"Right..." He nodded slowly.

Not wanting to keep talking to him, she grabbed her stuff and stood. "Well it was real interesting talking to you but I gotta skedaddle now so bye, you can go look for Haruhi!" She made a quick escape, slamming the door harder than necessary behind her as she left.

"Great, now I've got nowhere to go cos this PIG decided to invade my area..." The girl grumbled.

She sniffed indignantly and set off walking about in this over-sized school. She passed a huge willow tree, and saw a gap between the leaves and the hedge behind, so she ducked under to investigate. It turned out to be an awesome little place, with enough space to lie down and relax, but also small enough to feel secure and cosy. The top was covered with dry leaves and branches, in fact there was so much that it probably wouldn't leak when it rains. The sides were hedges and one side was the smooth trunk of the willow tree.

It would be her secret little hiding place.

Kiyoko stayed there, doodling randomly into her books and finishing homework she couldn't be bothered to do yesterday, until it was time for school. She reluctantly got up and crawled out of the 'Secret Garden', as she now called it, dragging her bag along.

* * *

"What. Did you just say?!" Her expression turned stormy.

The twins just grinned. "Well, the host club is having another special event today because of the beautiful blooming sakuras. We are going to be having a flower-viewing session, complete with afternoon tea!"

"Oh, awesome..." Kiyoko sighed. Hikaru (well she was pretty sure it was Hikaru anyway) shoved some clothing at her and she grabbed it and changed - it was a waitress's outfit, which matched the others.

She jogged outside to see Kyoya brandishing some photo albums or something and girls waving money at him. What the heck...

Since there wasn't anyone who wanted to request her at the moment, she went over to the twins, seeing as though they seemed slightly bored.

Hikaru knocked over a hot cup of tea just as she went over, so that it didn't hit it's target Kaoru, but instead spilt onto Kiyoko's hand.

"Ouch! Shit that hurts." She cussed.

Unable to do their digusting 'brotherly love' thing, Kaoru grabbed her hand and lightly kissed the burnt part. Hikaru just randomly kissed her other hand.

She responded by withdrawing both hands, then bunching them into fists and hitting them on the head simultaneously.

Over on the other side, she saw Tamaki shamelessly flirting with Haruhi yet again, and was apparently going on and on about how handsome he was. Conceited much.

Kiyoko decided to have some food and talk to the girls (even though she hated them) while the host club was off sprouting more nonsense about something she did not give a fudge for.

Gawd, how peaceful her life would be without the stupid host club... Except that they did constantly provide amusement and distraction. They were actually alright as people, just a little annoying, maybe, but she and the twins got along pretty well when they weren't busy doing the gross incest stuff.

"Oi! Come join us, Ki-Ki!" Hikaru called teasingly.

She instantly shot him an 'Are-you-serious-I-am-so-grossed-out-by-that-nickname' look, but made her excuses to the girls and stood anyway.

"Hurry up, Ki-Ki! We're all gonna play a game!" Kaoru called, making the same irritating expression as his brother.

The girl jogged over to the waiting people. "Yeah what?"

"Well hello to you too, Kiyoko." Kyoya said, looking mildly pissed at her greeting.

She ignored him. "We're playing a game? What game? Sounds like a bore to me."

"WE'RE PLAYING A COMMONER GAME! HARUHI, MY DAUGHTER HARUHI TAUGHT US! IT'S CALLED HIDE-AND-SEEK!" Tamaki yelled excitedly, probably not aware that he was, in fact, hollering in Kiyoko's ear.

"Great." She said in a fakey, sarcastic sing-song voice. "Hide-and-seek. I can't believe you've never heard of hide-and-seek before. Oh god... Rich people these days." She drew her hand across her forehead dramatically.

Tamaki was too happy to care. "Great! Well Honey here offered to count first, so everyone else hides! Honey, 60 seconds, no cheating."

"Yes sir!" Honey whirled in a circle and saluted. Then he faced a tree, covering his eyes. "60, 59, 58..."

Kiyoko rolled her eyes but started sprinting. She knew exactly where to go, where no one would find her.

As she crawled through the thin gap between the tree trunk and the hedge, she saw the light filtered in through the leaves, looking green and making the spot seem even cosier. Grinning, she sat down in a pile of olive-green leaves and laid her head on the smooth coolness of the trunk.

She must've dozed off, because she heard a voice calling to her faintly, in the dark... Wait, no. Mori was bobbed down at the entrance, blocking most of the light.

"Kiyoko." He said in that deep voice of his. She started, that being the first time she ever heard him speak. In fact, she almost thought he was mute or something.

"Y-yeah?"

He blinked. "I need a place to hide. Mitsukuni is coming."

"Fine. Come in."

The giant just managed to squeeze himself in before they heard footsteps. Kiyoko shushed him, even though there was no need - he only talked when he absolutely needed to.

"Takashi! Kiyoko!" The boy called, pouting when there was no response.

From a small hole in the hedge, the girl watched him walk away, then breathed a sigh of relief.

She turned to Mori with an accusing glare. "How did you find this place anyway? It's my secret hiding spot."

"I was just walking around and I saw a gap, so went to have a look." He murmured, still stoic as ever.

The boy shuffled forward a little, getting comfortable, and Kiyoko was suddenly aware of the fact that this place was so very cramped with this huge guy in it. But then again, it was kinda fun, playing with everyone, running around, even hiding with a person in a space that really wasn't supposed to fit him.

Mori blinked, trying to make sure his grey eyes weren't deceiving him.

The girl was smiling. Like, actually smiling for the first time since they met her. There was a faraway look in her silvery-blue eyes, and the grin etched onto her face made her seem younger somehow, and like a much more optimistic person.

Was this how she used to be like? What happened in between to turn her into her cold, sarcastic self?

Well, no one knew the answers, but _something _happened, that was for sure.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

Kiyoko blinked at the rest of the host club (excluding Mori) with her arms crossed, completely unimpressed. They had searched for god-knows-how-long and even in the end it was them who got bored and came out.

"Ki-Ki! Since you lost, we have a punishment for you!" The twins chorused.

The irritation was evident on her face. "Since when did I lose?! You guys were the losers who searched for 5 billion hours and still didn't manage to find me."

"No arguing, Ki-Ki!" Kaoru smirked.

She scowled. What's wrong with these people?

Hikaru grinned devilishly. "Since we wanted to have a get-together and Ki-Ki needs a punishment... WE ARE GOING TO HER HOUSE FOR A SLEEPOVER!"

Kiyoko wordlessly lifted her hand to Hikaru's cheek. He looked surprised, then... She pulled on it, hard. "Declined."

"Eeeeehhh? Then whaddubout... HARU-CHAN!" Honey cheered.

"No." Haruhi said.

"PLEEEEEAAASEEE!" Tamaki was begging now. "PLEASE, MY DAUGHTER ."

Said girl looked at his puppy dog eyes. "Don't look at me with those eyes... Okay fine..."

Everyone jumped around and danced like a maniac (well, by everyone I mean Honey, the twins, and Tamaki). Mori and Kyoya watched, stoic as usual, while on the other side Kiyoko was shaking Haruhi by the shoulders and yelling something like,

"JUST BECAUSE YOU WERE PUSHED OVER BY LOVE DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN ATTRACT MONSTERS TO OUR APARTMENT!"

Kaoru stopped and everyone behind him crashed into him.

"Wait, you guys live in the same apartment?"

"She lives in Number 4 and I live in Number 5." Kiyoko grumbled, still very much sulky.

Suddenly everyone smirked, and she knew what they were thinking.

"NO! You can't come to my place."

* * *

Kiyoko facepalmed. How did this even happen? She was forced (Kyoya threatened her) to spend time with people she only knew for a few weeks.

She didn't even like those people.

They stopped in front of Number 5. She sighed and unlocked the door, only doing this because of Kyoya's blackmail.

Everyone was silent as they stepped in, and was one by one consumed by the darkness.

"Wow." Honey's voice said rather solemnly. "It's...dark in here."

"Yeah well you were the ones who asked to come." She snapped, and pressed the switch.

Light flooded the tiny space, and everyone blinked, momentarily not used to the light. Tamaki sighed, content, while the twins scrutinised her apartment.

"Right!" Kyoya announced. "The twins, Kiyoko and I are in charge of cooking, and the others will set the table up...Hmm...It's too cramped in here so... On the rooftop."

Kiyoko's eyes widened. "N-no. Not the r-rooft-top. Let's just eat h-here." She stuttered in a most un-Kiyoko-style. There was a hint of panic in her voice.

Haruhi sensed her discomfort. "We can eat here. It's nice and cosy."

So that was decided, and she returned to her normal self, ignoring the purposeful looks Haruhi sent in her direction. She mumbled incoherent things that was better off unheard as Kyoya ordered her around.

That annoying control freak.

* * *

The dark-blue-haired girl slowly sat up in bed. She had nighmares...again. In fact, she'd be surprised if those dreams never stopped for the rest of her life. Her past haunted her like a particularly aggressive ghost.

She pushed back her messy hair as she swung around and hopped out of bed. There were voices she recognised from somewhere far away.

"Where are you guys?" Kiyoko called out sluggishly.

Kaoru popped out of nowhere. "They're on the rooftop, watching the sunrise if you wanna go."

She blinked at him, still groggy. "No thanks. What are you doing here then? Where's Hikaru?"

"Huh?" Surprise was clear on his face. "How did you...?"

"Dude. Your voices are different."

"Oh. Well, Kyoya put me on breakfast duty, so Hikaru's up there."

She looked away, already uninterested. "Mmm-kay."

Kaoru yawned. "I'm tired. That demon Kyoya made me cook even though I helped with the cooking yesterday."

Kiyoko glared at him with a 'You-totally-did-not-help-out-last-night' look, but sighed and pushed up her sleeves. "Fine, you lazy poop, I'll help."

"What a tsundere." He snickered, but immediately shut up at the look on her face, which clearly threatened not to help him with breakfast if he went on any more.

They worked in silence, with the occasional grumble from the irritated girl. Well, Kaoru mostly stood and watched while Kiyoko scrambled eggs, made riceballs and such. The rest of the host club came down, claiming they smelt a delicious aroma coming from the room.

"Impossible." She stated, rolling her eyes. "No way could you smell something from so far away."

"Aw, Ki-Ki, we were giving you a compliment!" Hikaru teased, slinging an arm around her shoulder and leaning into her. Kaoru did the same.

They both caught sight of a mysterious grin on her face, and thought, _oh crap what's she planning now? _She dashed forward a pace really fast, escaping from their arms, and since they were leaning on her, their heads bumped.

"Ouch~" Kaoru rubbed the spot.

Hikaru gasped. "Kaoru! I'm so sorry, are you okay?!" Uh oh, they just went into gross brotherly love mode.

"I'm fine... What about you Hika-"

"CUT!" Kiyoko yelled. "I WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS DISGUSTING-NESS IN MY APARTMENT! NO MORE ACTING!"

They pulled faces at her. "Poop."

"POOP TO YOU TOO! ARGH! I'VE HAD ENOUGH!" She shrieked and went back to her bedroom. She suddenly went very quiet so the host club decided to peek over at her.

Kiyoko was fast asleep on her bed.

The twins and Haruhi sweatdropped. "Wow..."

They watched her for a bit longer, then everyone got bored and left. Kaoru was the last to leave, and just so happened to glance over his shoulder when Kiyoko started twitching in her sleep.

He stopped in surprise. Her expression was pained and she started mumbling things he couldn't hear. So being the curious troublemaker he was, he went closer, but still only managed to catch phrases.

"Don't want...mum...please...dad...you can't do this to me!" There was a sharp inhale and she bolted up with a speed that matched lightning. Unfortunately, Kaoru was leaning over her in a attempt to hear better, and their foreheads bumped. Hard.

"OW!" Kaoru yelled.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kiyoko shouted at the same time.

He rubbed his forehead. "You were mumbling in your sleep so I wanted to hear what you were saying!" Foolishly honest.

"That's an invasion of privacy!"

"Well it's not my fault you were murmuring random things!"

The rest of the host club came around and peeked from behind the door, heads in a vertical row. Basically, Mori was at the top, followed by Tamaki, Hikaru, Haruhi, then Honey. Kyoya was creepily standing to a side and pushing up his glasses.

"What's going on here?" Tamaki came out and demanded (dramatically, as usual).

Both glared at him and kept arguing.

He turned into white dust. "M-my daughter is ignoring me! And also my soldier! NOOOOOOOO!" And so he retreated to the 'Tamaki Corner' again and continued growing mushrooms. Haruhi went over and scolded him about unwanted mushrooms.

All everyone else heard was a melodramatic 'WHYYYYYYYY?!' from that corner, then Haruhi came out brushing off the dust on her hands.

What the hell anyway.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

So after Tamaki was yelled at by 'his darling daughter', he retreated gloomily to the rooftop, where Kiyoko still didn't go to.

Somehow, being the stupid Host Club they were, they thought of a stupid idea. Well, it was mostly the twins and Tamaki who supported this idea, but Kyoya was the one who thought of it, surprisingly.

"Let's go to my family's private beach." He said, as usual doing the glasses-pushing thing. The blue-black haired girl sighed wearily, sinking down onto the floor. Knowing them, there was no use arguing, or trying to resist. They would use some blackmailing, or force, or some stupid scheme to get her to go.

"Yeah...fine...whatever..." She nodded, too tired to do anything else.

Haruhi raised her eyebrows. "Well, if Kiyoko goes, then I guess..."

"Yay! That was easy!" Honey grinned, dancing around in a circle happily, squeezing Usa-chan.

"Yeah, never would've thought..." Hikaru smirked. "That our wittle Tsun here would agree~" Kaoru added.

Kiyoko got up and gave them both a light punch on the shoulder. "God, I hate it when you join sentences like that. Irks me so much. And I'm not a tsundere."

"Tsun~" They both grinned teasingly as she turned her back to them.

* * *

The poor girls were thrown into this random building on arrival, and were told to pick out their swimsuit. Haruhi decided on this pink, ruffly one-piece, with a matching flowery cap. Kiyoko... well, as you might expect, she was ranting on and on about the 'beach' was artificial and fake, and about the fact that she would definitely _not _wear a bikini.

"Whyyyyyy? Aren't there a pair of normal bathers around here? Why are they all either flowery or wayyy too revealing? GROSS!" She wailed, really annoyed at the Host Club.

In the end, she managed to somehow discover a really plain and boring black one-piece at the back of the room somewhere, making the twin maids who were supposed to help her choose, sigh and shake their heads.

"Kosume-sama... You should really-" One of them began.

"Nup. No. Dun wanna hear it. Not wearing a bikini either way." She quickly retreated to the changing rooms.

After they finished getting ready and all that, they both walked out, Kiyoko with a gloomy face and Haruhi just looking blank as usual. Haruhi was quickly stopped by Tamaki and had a hoodie thrown over her, but luckily the other girl was already wearing a coverup...which just happened to be a black leather jacket with the collar turned up, and a pair of shorts.

"Huh?" She said when the Host Club asked her about it. "Oh, I just randomly found it somewhere."

Hikaru sniggered. "It makes you look like one of those tomboys... Oh wait, I forgot. You are one!" The twins laughed.

Said girl blinked, unimpressed. "Ha. Ha. Very funny." She said sarcastically.

"It was supposed to be." Kaoru grinned, not failing to make her even _more _annoyed, if that was even possible.

Seeing her face become darker with every second, Mori actually spoke up for once. "Let's go swimming." He murmured in his low voice. "Mitsukuni?"

"Yup! Let's go, Takashi! I wanna go to the current pool!" The childish blonde immediately danced away happily, grabbing Mori and dragging him away. The giant's face had gone back to its usual blankness, and he showed no emotion as he followed Honey to the pool.

"Should we go as well?" Haruhi bit her lip, thinking through the options. "But... it's not a real beach though..."

Kiyoko sighed. "Since we actually bothered to get changed, we should go, or else it would be a waste."

They took off their coverups and hopped into the current pool with Mori and Honey. Haruhi started swimming against the waves and current right away, but the other girl, being the lazy llama that she was, just clung to the edge and let the waves carry the rest of her body to one side, and just floated there contently.

"Ah, although this is all artificial, I guess it's still nice to relax and chill sometimes." Kiyoko said, starting to swim against the current too. "Especially since every night's dreams get worse." She whispered that last part to herself, sighing.

Life would be so much better if sleeping wasn't needed. Or better still, that those nightmares would go away.

"Ki-chan!" Honey called, resting on a deck chair with Haruhi and Mori. "Want some cucumber juice?"

The bluenette realised that she has been swimming against the current for a long time now, and the rest have already gotten out of the pool. "Oh... yeah sure whatever, I'm coming."

She climbed out wearily, kind of 'mentally exhausted' from thinking about the past.

"Man, Kyoya." She said to the creepy megane guy who was sipping on a drink a few metres away.

He turned to her, glasses glinting. "What? And it's Kyoya-_senpai_."

She huffed. "Kyoya..._SENPAI, _why does your family own at least one of every single type of business in Japan? Dude you creep me out."

Kyoya merely pushed up his glasses and said nothing. Kiyoko rolled her eyes and went back to Honey, Mori and Haruhi. She could hear the latter grumbling about this place.

"...I mean, what's so good about this overblown facility anyway? I'd rather lounge around at home than stay here. It's all fake." She deadpanned. By now, the twins have joined them and were shaking their heads.

"Agreed." She nodded, grabbing the drink from Honey and snuggling comfortably onto a chair loaded with fluffy cushions.

Kiyoko looked up at the fake blue sky. If she looked carefully enough, she could see white lines in the 'sky'. Tch, obviously some sorta expensive thingy that made it look like they were somewhere else. There were trees and lots of weird animal sound coming from the forest, and from a pool far away, out crawled...

"Woah, is that a crocodile?" She exclaimed, sitting up so she could see the creature better.

"Hmm? Yeah." Kaoru nodded. "There are all sorts of animals here."

Hikaru had a teasing grin on his face. "Scared?"

"Nup~" She grinned just as teasingly back, a hint of sarcasm in her expression. "Bet you are though, Hikaru."

He made a face, seemingly displeased. Then a creepy evilness appeared in both the twins eyes, and the girls sighed.

"I have a feeling I know what's in store for us..." Just as Haruhi said it, Hikaru and Kaoru went into brotherly love mode. Oh gawd, this is what happens when you annoy one of them...

"Oh Hikaru! Please don't be upset! I will-"

"OH KAORU, PLEASE DON'T BE ANNOYING OR I WILL PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE!" Kiyoko glared at them. They sniggered and went off, dragging Tamaki and Haruhi with them, as a part of another scheme.

Which turned out to be shooting water at each other.

"Oi, Kiyoko!" Kaoru called, as he dodged a blast from Tamaki. "Wanna join?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Might as well, since I'm bored. I don't actually really wanna play."

"What a tsundere." He pretended to sigh, shaking his head at her.

She took the opportunity to try ad shoot him in the face. He managed to dodge it skilfully, tauntingly calling out as he ran away. Kiyoko decided to try and target someone else, anyone but the twins, because, you know, they could be kind of creepy at times. She spotted Kyoya near a huge tree, and came up from behind it.

"If you're thinking of hitting me with that water, think again." He said, not even looking up from his laptop (why the heck does he have his laptop with him still?).

Poking her tongue out at him, she gave a mini-squirt anyway and dashed away, evil laughing at the top of her lungs. To be honest, she really wasn't afraid of Kyoya... yet. Apparently he could be really scary. Apparently.

Not being able to see anyone else who was playing, she approached Tamaki, water-pistol in hand.

"NOOOOOO!" He yelled, blindly spraying water out.

And that only resulted in a very wet and annoyed Kiyoko, and of course a screaming blonde (Tamaki duh).

* * *

**I'm sorry for the late update and short chapter.**

**Very busy, since term basically just started. Probably not many updates, because I'm trying to work on my other stuff too, so don't be expecting much!**


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

Kiyoko dreamt of falling into a dark abyss, with those dark, midnight blue eyes devoid of emotion staring into her. She felt as if she was slowly living through her past again, through those horrible nightmares. It started off as her in a happy family that happened to be quite famous, then gradually processed to the warped, twisted state it was in now.

She sat up, panting a little, and leant back onto the pillows behind her. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep again tonight. Not in this state. Especially since the dreams have progressed towards the most dreaded event.

Thinking about it, she realised that it was almost her birthday. June the 14th. The worst day of the year.

Only less than a month left.

But this time… it'll be fine, right?

After all, she thought as she glanced at a photo of the Host Club idiots (that Tamaki forcefully stuck up on her wall), she wasn't exactly alone this time. She wouldn't relive the horrors of that day all on her own. She'll survive somehow.

Yawning, she got up from her bed, in case she accidentally fell asleep again. There was really nothing to do in this tiny, cramped apartment of hers. Kiyoko didn't even have a piano. Well, maybe… maybe she'll be nice today and bake something for the Host Club.

Maybe…? Nah.

Deciding against it (lazy much), she walked aimlessly around her dark 'home' to try and find something to kill time until 6:30am. It was only around 5:00am. But she never bought much stuff for herself, and didn't really have any hobbies except for the piano, so in the end there was really nothing to do. She slumped onto the couch and closed her eyes.

How did everything come to this? Right, of course. Her darling mother was the cause of all this. Memories swirled in her mind, and even as she tried to stop, she thought about the past.

**_~Flashback~_**

_"__Mum? It's my birthday in a month!" Kiyoko regretted it as soon as the words came out of her mouth. She quickly looked around for an escape, but when her mother started speaking, her eyes were drawn back up to her. She was only nine, after all._

_She frowned haughtily down at the little girl, looking more superior than ever. "I have no time to be thinking about such trivial matters, Kiyoko. Your brother is sick with a bad cold, and I need to tend to him. Also, how many times have I told you, call me mother, not mum. It sounds so improper."_

_What? All Hitoshi did was cough twice yesterday. And that was because he choked stuffing so much cake into his mouth. Obviously, she didn't dare say of these things out loud. Her mother would be mortified at her rudeness. Besides, she liked Hitoshi, even if he was spoilt and a little selfish._

_"__Y-yes, mother." She whispered, now studying the floor carefully._

_"__Right. Now let me hear no more of your stupid birthday nonsense." She sniffed and walked away, seeming more distant from her daughter than ever before. _

_Kiyoko sighed, also turning away. She still remembered the days when her mum loved her to bits, and spoilt her proudly every single day. Of course, those days were no more. And she really seemed to detest her presence now. The girl still had no idea why any of this was happening to her, but she blamed herself for everything._

_It was her fault she was disliked by her mother. She wasn't good enough. She needed to be perfect. She had to try hard to regain her mother's love. _

_That's what she told herself every day._

_And try she did, but it seemed like it wasn't enough. Kiyoko studied hard and gradually became top of her grade. She practised hard on the piano, and tried to become a more sporty, social, and likeable person. Little did she know, it wasn't helping her mental health and she wasn't working hard for herself anymore; she was working for her mother. _

_Her face became shadowed from her sadness and lack of love. There were bags under her usually pretty blue-grey eyes, from all those nightmares she had no one to confide to. The poor girl worried about things no one her age should even have to think about. And all along, her mother's coldness and aloofness towards her destroyed her from the core._

_"Kiyoko." A voice called, and she snapped out of her reverie. _

_"Yes, father?" She replied meekly._

_He looked down at her from across the room. "Go buy some cold medicine for Hitoshi. He's sick, as you know."_

_"Yes, father." She gave a small bow, feeling a little like a waitress, before turning to leave. It was best to obey her parents and not argue, as there might be some dire consequences that she'd rather not imagine._

_"Onee-chan! K-Kiyoko!" A slightly unfamiliar voice called, and she turned around again, shocked._

_It was her brother, Hitoshi._

_"Hito-chan! Don't stress out your throat and yell at her, please, it would be a nuisance if you got even more unwell." Her mother cooed to the little boy, merely three years old._

_"Onee-chan! Th-th-than... Thank you!" He grinned, proud of himself, and tottered off upstairs again, with their mum fussing left and right. _

_Kiyoko was speechless for a moment or two. She had gotten so used to being yelled at and ordered around, that she had forgotten that lovely warm feeling in her heart when someone appreciated her efforts, and spoke to her like an equal. A smile made its way up onto her youthful face for the first time in ages, and she happily turned to go, mentally reminding herself to get some sweet and delicious medicine, instead of the yucky bitter ones._

_She would always want the best for her brother._

**_~Flashback End~_**

A grimaced formed on Kiyoko's face as she got up from the couch and contemplated about her past self. There was no reason for her to think about that now, because, as she said, _the past is in the past._ Although there was no escaping that the past did sometimes interrupt her daily life.

Her phone rang and she picked it up. Who the hell would call her so early in the morning? Who the hell even knows her number?

"What?" She snapped into the phone.

The voice chuckled at the other end of the line. "Well, good morning to you too, Ki-Ki."

"Why the hell do you have my number, Kaoru?"

"Huh." She could hear the frown from miles away, and rolled her eyes, for she anticipated what was going to happen next. The twins were way too predictable when you got to know them... "How did you know it was me?"

Kiyoko gave a snicker. "Dude, how many times have I told you already? YOUR VOICES ARE DI-FE-RENT!" Rich people were so dumb. No offence to rich people. Then, thinking of Kyoya, she quickly took back that thought. Okay then, only some rich people are dumb... Most...

"Really? I don't believe you." The other end said indignantly.

She rolled her eyes again, for like the third time since she picked up that phone. "Yes, Hikaru, I told you I could tell. Stuuu-pid." Playing tricks on her, eh? Not gonna work with her magical ears still attached to her head. Totally.

"Anyway," Hikaru hastened to say. "We were calling to say that we're going to visit Okinawa soon, and you have to come with us."

"Uh, no thanks. Anyway, I gotta go cos you interrupted my precious sleep and I'm tired." She lied, about to hang up when the smug voice said something that stopped her.

Surprisingly (not), it was Kaoru back on the line again. "You never sleep after 5:30am, so why?" His voice was irritatingly conceited and mingled into it was an air of smug arrogance.

How she hated that way to talking. "And how would you know?"

"Why would you even answer my call otherwise?"

Kiyoko had nothing to reply to that, and merely huffed. "Whatever. Go die."

"Well gee you're nice, aren't you?"

"Hikaru, quit trying to trick me - it's never gonna work. And yes, I've always been this _nice_."

* * *

**Hello guys! Soz for such a late update...**

**Anyways, I've decided to change the title of the story (I know, I'm very indecisive) and it'll be changed in a week (or something).**

**See ya in the next update!**


	9. Chapter 9

** CHAPTER NINE**

"Oi, Hikar-" She let out a torrent of nasty curses as the twin just hung up on her - she hadn't even finished her lecture about not forcing people to do what they don't want yet! Rubbing her eyes sleepily, she jumped onto her bed again and buried her face in a pillow. Kiyoko knew she wouldn't be able to sleep again, as she feared the nightmares that would return, but she still felt awfully drowsy.

Lying down again, she decided to rest her eyes for a bit.

Which was a horrible idea. Before she even knew it, she had dozed off, and was only later woken by a pair - no, two pairs - of arms shaking her awake.

"Ki-Ki, get up~" A super-annoying voice called.

She bolted up straight on the bed and, using the momentum she had, threw the pillow she was holding mercilessly onto the nearest twin. Ah, sorry-not-sorry, Kaoru.

Everything from then on happened in a blur. She was dragged out of bed by them, then randomly, somehow, before she knew it, she was in Okinawa, watching the members of the Host Club frolicking around with...

"Er... Why are there a bunch of random girls here? And why is Tamaki being all disgusting with that brunette over ther- oh wait I'm pretty sure that's a regular of the host club, isn't she? But still, I thought Tamaki had a crush on Har-" Kiyoko grumbled on, and when she was about to say the most important part, her voice was muffled by two hands clamping onto her mouth, preventing her from saying anything else.

Pissed, she threw them off and yelled at them without even needing to turn back - no one but the twins would do such an annoying act. They weren't even half-bothered, grinning back at her as they ran off to fulfil their host duties (a nicer name for flirting with girls and they doing their gross twincest thing).

Kiyoko curled up next to Haruhi under the umbrella and watched glumly. Luckily, they didn't need to do anything club related, as there were no guy customers here in Okinawa.

Meanwhile, Kyoya was instructing girls to line up for the '5-Minutes-With-Tamaki-On-A-Rock' Activity, and Hikaru and Kaoru were chasing each other down the beach (...). What was even stranger was the sight of Mori and Honey dancing this really weird and random dance with some girls on the other side of the beach.

She sighed heavily. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Unfortunately, the small while of peace was ruined by Hikaru and Kaoru coming up with an idea for a contest. A very sick-minded contest, in her opinion.

Actually, Kiyoko wasn't meant to know. But she had escaped the crowd of girls surrounding Haruhi (after she had mercilessly flicked away the centipede), and stumbled upon their little conversation. Kyoya had photos of Haruhi in middle school - which he would use as a reward for the winner who found out either Haruhi's or her own weakness.

Soon after, Haruhi was dragged away by the twins first, and Kiyoko got thrown into the back of the van to test if she had claustrophobia, and most of the other members all tried something else too, but none succeeded in making either of the girls even slightly afraid.

"Haruhi-chan!" Three girls called from high above on a rock formation. They looked down at Haruhi, still collecting shellfish, and the other girl who was getting pestered by the twins. "It's so nice up here!"

That was when they all heard distinct, rough male voices right next to the girls. Thugs.

Kiyoko gritted her teeth and started to climb up without a second thought, for a while forgetting about one of her greatest fears... But then again she was only thinking for the safety of the girls, even if they can be annoyingly thoughtless and girly at times.

Finally reaching the top, with Kaoru, Hikaru and Haruhi just behind, she glared at the two thugs. "Get away from them, you disgusting people." She hissed, eyes flashing angrily.

"Ooooh, another girl!" One grinned nastily, letting go of the other girl and slowly walking towards Kiyoko. "This one's pretty feisty."

As he drew nearer, the bluish-black haired girl waited for the right time, then lashed out with a fist right in the nose. The thug wasn't expecting it, so he fell down, clutching his bleeding nose and groaning. When he looked back up, his eyes were filled with scathing anger. He reached out to push her off the rock.

Things started to happen all at once. Haruhi was thrown into the water by the other thug, and Tamaki closely followed. Honey dealt with both personally with a rather dark smile on his childish face, then handed him over to the Ootori Police Force.

Kiyoko's eyes widened as she felt herself becoming almost weightless as the drop off the rock loomed closer.

It felt like _that time_ again. Tears formed in her eyes and she cried out helplessly, already falling, back facing the water. Her body was frozen stiff with fear and her sight was blurred. At the last moment, a large hand reached out and grabbed both her wrists.

Luckily, Kiyoko was light (a little underweight), or else her weight would've dragged both her and her savior down with her. It also helped that her savior had thought of crouching down and laying flat on the rock instead of standing up, so he was able to support her weight. She stayed there for a few seconds, suspended over the deep blue water just holding on to some unknown person, and feet dangling and brushing against the crumbling rock. Her eyes were squeezed shut completely, the tears already dry from the cool breeze whipping at her hair.

After the guy kindly pulled her up, she opened her eyes cautiously. Kaoru sat in front of her, his usually cheery and devilish face serious, and showing a little concern.

"Well, thanks." She whispered, her voice hoarse, but trying to make a joke out of it.

"Are you alright?" He muttered.

Kiyoko steadied her breathing. "Yeah. Fine." She replied without looking up, her voice recovering some of her old tsundere-ness.

"Are you... scared of heights?" Kaoru asked carefully. He wondered why she had looked so frightened.

"Yup." She replied quickly, standing up and looking away from the twin. "Don't tell all of the host club, okay? You may want Haruhi's photos, but just deal with it." She tried to make her voice light and normal, so he wouldn't question further.

He nodded. It seemed to him that she had admitted her phobia too fast. There was something in the whole situation that just didn't click. Kaoru had seen the intensity of the fear in her expression when she was about to fall, and it was definitely not just because of a fear of heights. There was something more to it.

But the girl was not offering any information, and he wasn't going to ask, so they both started walking back to the Ootori family villa in troubled silence.

* * *

Kiyoko noticed that Haruhi was deliberately ignoring Tamaki the whole time during dinner. She happened to be sitting directly in front of Tamaki and next to Hikaru on the dinner table, so she had front row seats to the whole situation.

In conclusion to the whole 'long story', Tamaki left and nothing was really solved.

"Maybe I should take up karate or something like that..." Haruhi pondered out loud.

"I used to do karate, actually." Kiyoko mused, munching on crab with a blank expression on her face. "I had a black belt. But that was years and years ago."

Hikaru and Kaoru made a troubled expression from next to her. "Maybe we shouldn't upset you too much then..." They shrugged, disappointment obvious on their faces.

Kaoru noted that she didn't seem much different from before the rock incident, but he still observed her carefully. Being the curious guy he is, he wanted to know why she was so afraid of heights - because everything had a reason to it.

"I really don't know why Tamaki-senpai was so mad about this." Haruhi stated, breaking the short silence.

"To be honest, we think you should reconsider your actions too, and apologise." The twins said in sync.

She frowned a little. "Why? I didn't cause any trouble for you guys, did I?" Kiyoko sighed - she was way too oblivious at times, especially towards Tamaki's little crush on *cough*.

When she'd finally heard from the twins that she had made everyone worry, she apologised straightforwardly, making everyone go to hug her (Mori just stood at the back of their group hug, holding this enormous crab). Kiyoko continued eating unconcernedly.

Meanwhile... The hugging group turned their attention onto the unsuspecting girl.

"Ki-Ki, since Haruhi here apologised, shouldn't you as well?" Hikaru grinned.

She narrowed her eyes. "Why should I? None of you were worried about me anyway."

All of them that were present felt a pang of guilt hit them. It was true, Kaoru thought. Most of the Host Club had been down at the shore, waiting anxiously for Haruhi and Tamaki, that they had forgotten about her, still up on the rocks. She must've noticed that they were feeling a little guilty and awkward, so she hastened to add, "Not that you needed to. Haruhi was the one who needed attention. I mean, I didn't fall into the water, nor was I injured or anything."

Kaoru couldn't help but raise his eyebrow. What about that intense fear she experienced? It was probably worse than any physical injury.

"If you weren't injured, then what's that?" Haruhi pointed to her left arm.

"Huh?" Kiyoko raised her arm, then saw a small red mark and surrounding it, dried blood. "Oh, oops, must've scratched it while I was climbing up. Well, I'm done with dinner anyway, so I'll take my leave now and go clean this thing." Her chair made a screeching noise as she pushed it back and stood up with a stretch. "G'night, people."

Kaoru watched as she left the room. "Goodnight, Ki-Ki!" He and Hikaru called out in sync.

* * *

**Okay, everyone, sorry for the late update. I'm still alive, don't worry.**

**I've changed the title and some small bits of info in the previous chapters - note that Kiyoko's height has been changed to 170cm for *cough* purposes LOL.**


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